Ning Fa nodded and flew forward with Hermit Wuxin.
Soon, the two arrived at Kongming Island and flew straight up along the giant mountain.
Along the way, Ning Fa also glanced at the city being built around the mountain.
The main force constructing the city was numerous black giant ape puppets, most of them second-tier, and Ning Fa even saw several third-tier puppets.
It had to be said that using third-tier puppets to build a city was quite extravagant.
In addition, many spirit ores above the second-tier were used as the main material for building the city, which made Ning Fa secretly nod.
Although Fu Ling Hall had suffered heavy damage, its foundation was still very deep.
Soon, the two arrived at the mountain peak. The strong winds howled, and myriad rays of auspicious light shone. The spiritual energy here was so dense it was almost liquefied, and the spirit vein concentration had reached the high-grade fourth-tier.
On the mountain peak stood a majestic and solemn, colossal palace. On the plaque at the entrance of the main hall were three thunderous characters: "Fu Ling Hall."
Beside it was a huge plaza, several miles long and wide.
At this moment, a tiered platform had been erected on the plaza, and hundreds of cultivators were seated in order on these platforms.
Among them were over three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, sixty Core Formation cultivators, and six Nascent Soul cultivators.
Clearly, these were all disciples of Fu Ling Hall, and far from all of them.
Hermit Wuxin had already informed Ning Fa earlier that there were about fifty more Core Formation disciples and hundreds of Foundation Establishment disciples who were either far away or busy with relocation matters and could not come.
However, the remaining six Nascent Soul elders of Fu Ling Hall were all present.
Even the Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators among the hundreds present had solemn expressions, with a hint of unease that was hard to conceal.
After all, everyone now knew about the great calamity that Fu Ling Hall had suffered on Sun Peak. With three hall masters, two dead and one surrendered, the hall was leaderless, which inevitably caused them to panic.
At this moment, when everyone noticed Ning Fa and Hermit Wuxin's arrival, hundreds of pairs of eyes all looked over in unison.
The Foundation Establishment and Core Formation disciples all looked bewildered. They recognized neither Hermit Wuxin, who had concealed his true appearance, nor Ning Fa.
However, the expressions of the Nascent Soul elders changed.
Murong Zhaoxue, dressed in a blue palace dress and exuding a cold and alluring beauty, saw Ning Fa arrive with Hermit Wuxin. Her beautiful eyes first showed confusion, but then she immediately reacted, and a look of ecstatic joy flashed in her eyes.
How could she not know now that the Hall Master of the Heart Hall, who had suddenly appeared and led the remaining people of Fu Ling Hall to rebuild the mountain gate, and who had spoken of the new Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall, was actually Ning Fa!
How could this not make her, who had a close relationship with Ning Fa, overjoyed!
Gu Huai and Liang Jun, also elders of the Punishment Hall, were shocked but then realized.
After all, they had witnessed Ning Fa's powerful strength with their own eyes on Sun Peak, so they felt that this outcome was almost inevitable.
As for the other three Nascent Soul elders, one was an ordinary-looking young woman in a green dress, who was the female cultivator surnamed Feng that had escaped with her Nascent Soul earlier.
She had clearly possessed a new body and her cultivation realm had stabilized at the Nascent Soul stage.
The other two were a plump, round, and worried-looking early Nascent Soul male.
And the last one was a tall, heavily armored middle-aged man with a dark face, wearing a wolf-head helmet, with mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation.
This person exuded a heavy killing aura and a powerful vital energy. He was actually a dual cultivator of body and law who practiced thunder techniques, and his spiritual pressure was the strongest among these six Nascent Soul cultivators.
Among these three, besides the female cultivator surnamed Feng who was also an elder of the Punishment Hall, the other two were elders of the You Hall.
Although these three also showed surprise in their eyes, they were not overly astonished.
After all, they had previously learned of the powerful strength of Ning Fa, the new Thunder Son of the Punishment Hall, from Gu Huai and the others.
The stout Nascent Soul cultivator glanced at the dark-faced man, and a hint of regret flashed in his narrowed eyes.
The dark-faced man's thick eyebrows merely furrowed slightly, but then returned to their calm, unruffled state.
Ning Fa's powerful spiritual sense naturally took in all their changes in expression.
However, he paid no mind and, at Hermit Wuxin's signal, flew towards the highest point of the tiered platform.
The vast plaza instantly fell silent, with only the sound of the whistling wind.
The many Foundation Establishment and Core Formation disciples silently watched the two fly up to the high platform, their expressions filled with shock. Clearly, they now understood.
Under everyone's gaze, the two reached the highest point. Hermit Wuxin looked at everyone and said in a hoarse, aged voice:
"Fellow disciples, I, as the Hall Master of the Heart Hall, now announce the dying wish of the previous Hall Master, True Lord Tian Xu!"
As he spoke, he flipped his right hand, and a special gray feather appeared in the air amidst a glow.
With a hand seal from Hermit Wuxin, the feather instantly flashed with light, and a deep voice transmitted from it:
"This seat knows that my end is near and unavoidable.
I hereby appoint Ning Fa, the Thunder Son of the Punishment Hall, as the new Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall. You are all to assist him wholeheartedly and help Fu Ling Hall regain its glory!"
This short sentence was like a huge stone dropped into a lake.
Although the cultivators of Fu Ling Hall had already guessed, hearing True Lord Tian Xu's dying words still caused their expressions to shake. Some disciples even covered their faces and wept.
These were all fervent admirers of True Lord Tian Xu, and they still couldn't believe the news of his death. Now that they heard his last words, their hopes were dashed, and they found it difficult to accept.
More people, however, remained silent, and many looked confused.
This was because Ning Fa had joined Fu Ling Hall too recently, and the matter of him becoming the Thunder Son of the Punishment Hall had not even been publicized in the hall.
The fact that he had suddenly become the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall, especially since, in their eyes, Ning Fa was only a cultivator at the early Nascent Soul stage, only heightened the unease of those who were already anxious during this period.
At this moment, Hermit Wuxin grabbed with his right hand, and a special dark blue scepter slowly appeared in his hand.
At the top of the scepter was inlaid a dragon's head, as if a dragon had been forcibly shrunk, and wisps of blue electric light spewed from its mouth, giving the scepter an extraordinary aura of power.
Hermit Wuxin then faced Ning Fa and raised the scepter high with both hands.
Seeing this, Ning Fa couldn't help but reveal a hint of emotion in his eyes.
If he accepted this Thunder King Scepter, he would truly become the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall.
He remembered hearing the name Fu Ling Hall when he was just a small Foundation Establishment Cultivator. This mysterious force from another cultivation world was incredibly powerful in his mind.
He never expected fate to play such a trick, and now he had actually become the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall.
He suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart and calmly accepted the scepter.
Seeing this, Hermit Wuxin immediately turned to the crowd and announced loudly, "The handover of the Thunder King Scepter is complete. Ning Fa is now the new Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall!"
The crowd was silent for a moment, and then erupted in cheers: "Greetings, Hall Master!"
However, their voices were uneven and even sounded weak.
Ning Fa showed no change in expression, even a slight smile playing on his lips.
Then, silver lightning surged from his body, and he slowly flew upwards into the sky.
Ning Fa's inexplicable actions left the crowd bewildered.
Murong Zhaoxue and Hermit Wuxin were the first to react, their faces breaking into smiles, anticipation in their eyes.
As Ning Fa flew upwards, brilliant silver lightning began to erupt from his body.
A powerful spiritual pressure gradually manifested from him, and this spiritual pressure surged wildly, as if a terrifying beast was awakening from its slumber.
The low-level disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage even felt a colossal mountain pressing down on their heads, making it difficult to breathe.
Even the Core Formation Cultivators turned pale, their hearts pounding, and an uncontrollable sense of fear arose within them.
Ning Fa's spiritual pressure continued to rise without pause.
This caused even the Nascent Soul elders to change color drastically, their eyes filled with horror.
The stern-faced, burly man, who had remained calm until now, also had his tiger-like eyes filled with shock.
At this moment, the silver lightning outside Ning Fa's body had become dazzlingly bright.
Then, a thunderous roar, as if it could pierce the sky, sounded. Amidst the blinding light, a thunderous giant, a hundred feet tall and seemingly reaching the heavens, suddenly appeared.
It was clad in a purple-gold thunder robe, wore a mysterious thunder crown, and was covered in ancient thunder armor with mysterious thunder patterns flowing across its surface. Intense electrical currents coiled around it like dragons.
At this moment, the thunderous giant seemed like a deity born from the lightning.
As this thunderous giant appeared, there was a series of "swish, swish, swish" sounds.
The many Foundation Establishment disciples could no longer withstand the immense pressure. Their faces turned ashen as they unleashed various defensive measures.
Some of the weaker ones had no choice but to kneel on the ground, drenched in sweat.
Although the Core Formation Cultivators fared slightly better, they were all protected by shimmering spiritual light shields, facing the situation as if confronting a formidable enemy, their expressions filled with extreme shock. Some even felt an uncontrollable urge to prostrate themselves in worship.
This was because at least thirty to forty percent of the Fu Ling Hall disciples present were lightning cultivators.
Therefore, when Ning Fa fully unleashed his spiritual pressure, these lightning cultivators felt it even more intensely, giving them a feeling akin to seeing their sovereign.
Among the Nascent Soul elders, only Murong Zhaoxue's eyes were filled with excitement and fervor; the others were all aghast.
The burly man also stood up abruptly, his face filled with shock, his hands clenched so tightly that his veins bulged.
At this moment, a thunderous roar echoed out. The thunderous giant extended its right hand and then pressed down fiercely.
A sound of wind and thunder arose and quickly spread into the distance.
Above the sea surface several miles away, thunderclouds suddenly gathered and churned wildly, transforming into a colossal palm of lightning that fiercely struck the sea below.
With a deafening roar, the previously calm sea surface was instantly churned into a tempest. A giant wave, a hundred feet high, surged forward.